'Provincial Government Remit Should be Cut' : Rubalcaba

The PSOE Prime Ministerial candidate Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba commented yesterday how the country's provincial governments are surplus to requirement, and that a revision of the system is required.

El Pais reported Rubalcaba's commented : "[The delegations] form part of a 19th-century structure that we need to redefine," Rubalcaba said in Santander on Tuesday. "If the delegations want to carry on doing what they do now, I think they are superfluous."

The provincial delegations are intermediaries between town halls and regional governments, and have limited authority. Their main role is to distribute funds among the smaller Towns for various expenses and investment.

In response to Rubalcaba's comments, the campaign director for the PP Opposition, Ana Mato, said that they favored a "restructuring" of all public administrations, rather than "simply reducing" the role of the provinces.

Mariano Rajoy, the prime ministerial candidate for the PP, which now governs in the majority of the Country's regions and Municipalities, has implemented a plan to reduce public institutions should he win November general elections in order to avoid overlaps of power and achieve a more efficient and economical government.